Slowing Down

When I was in high school, I learned how to drive. I also got the use of a car. My dad would ride his bike to work everyday so that I could use our car. There were a couple of routes I could take to get home from school, and one of these routes had a lot of intense speed bumps. One day, as I was going over these speed bumps, I forgot to slow down. I was going quite fast, and discovered that if I was at the right speed, the car would fly over the bumps and you wouldn't even feel the bump. I soon started taking this route home everyday because it was so much fun. However, one day, I was taught how bad this was for your vehicle. I was told all the things it can do to wear down on the car. I soon realized that if I was going to keep using my dad's car, I should probably treat it right. I starting taking other ways home, and I slowed down when going over speed bumps. 

This is a pattern I've started to notice in my life. Either when something stressful comes up, or life starts to get hard, I take it super fast. I am not very patient. I speed through things as fast as possible without really taking a look around to see what's happening. I took no thought as to what this did to me. I didn't realize the damage it was doing to my relationships, with God, with my family, with others, and with myself. I now know this needs to change. 

In President Uchtdorf's talk in this last conference, he talked about the need to slow down, to get back to the basics. As I'm starting my new job, I know I'm going to be stressed. I know this is going to bring a lot of challenges that I know I can handle, even though at first they may seem unconquerable. I know that by slowing down and by focusing on the little things, that will give me a foundation strong enough to accomplish whatever I set my mind to. It will all be through Him.